3of 3OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 17: Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets celebrates after defeating the Golden State Warriors 122-121 in their NBA game at ORACLE Arena on October 17, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Photo: Ezra Shaw, Staff / Getty Images

The first win of the Tilman Fertitta era had been confirmed, a video review determining that Kevin Durant’s shot had come too late, sending the Rockets past the Warriors in the season opener.

Fertitta had been a few feet away from Durant’s jumper, in the baseline seats amid the Oracle Arena roar where the opposing owner often sits with assorted celebrities, but he was now was on the court, congratulated with hugs and smiles from James Harden and Nene, Chris Paul and P.J. Tucker.

Adrenaline surged as Fertitta, the 60-year-old ruler of a Houston-based hotel and restaurant empire who had been approved as the new Rockets owner less than two weeks before, joyously bounced around the court, feeling more certain than ever that his purchase was worth all $2.2 billion.

“We fought back the whole game and won at the end after we thought we lost on KD’s shot,” Fertitta said. “Players and I were all in a surreal moment. We didn’t expect to win that game as we do today.

“Yes, we haven’t had that feeling again all year, but we all know how to get it again.”

As the Rockets open their Western Conference finals series against the reigning champion Warriors on Monday at the Toyota Center, Fertitta still will not allow himself to consider the potential that history could repeat itself.

When in 1993 Leslie Alexander topped Fertitta’s bid to purchase the Rockets for $85 million, just $4 million more than Fertitta had offered, Alexander believed he had bought the NBA’s best team and celebrated his prescience and purchase with consecutive championships.

Fertitta did not make such predictions before the season, citing the greatness of the Warriors. He will not make that leap now. But he can see the possibilities.

“I just won’t go there,” Fertitta said, though he admitted he often gets asked about repeating Alexander’s first-year magic. “It’s too hard to go there. The positive thing is in our next 14 games, if we play that many, we only have to go 8-6. That’s the positive. If we can go 8-6 in our next 14 games, we’ll be the world champions. But you’ll have to beat Golden State, and Cleveland or Boston.

“The bottom line is you have two seasons in the NBA, the regular season and the postseason. There was a lot of pressure on us after you win 65 games to get to the Western Conference finals. Everybody waited for this matchup (with) Golden State.”

Along the way, Fertitta presided over the greatest regular season in Houston history. The Rockets’ franchise-record 65 wins sent them to the playoffs with the NBA’s best record for the first time in franchise history. The Rockets’ first-year owner has been steadfastly joyful. It has been noticed.

“He’s great,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “It’s obviously really new to him as an owner. His presence on the road has been super, him and his whole family. That’s great. Players like to see owners and see his enthusiasm. He’s perfect for us.

“It’s fun, seeing someone that accomplished, with what he’s done in life, enjoying what we’re doing. And I think it’s important as we go on, being able to maintain that enthusiasm, to have someone around like that. I like it. It’s very positive.”

Fertitta did not have to develop a passion for his team after the sale went through. He had it since he was a child when he heard in 1970 that Elvin Hayes’ team would be moving to Houston.

“Being connected with the team since 1982 with Charlie Thomas (the Rockets' owner from 1982 to 1993) and getting to where we are today, all these years later, is very fulfilling,” Fertitta said. “Very few owners that own a professional basketball, baseball, football or hockey team get to cheer for the team in their hometown that they cheered for their whole lives. It's pretty darn special."

Fertitta’s energy and ambition have long been well-known as he built Landry’s to more than 600 properties in 36 states and 15 countries, along with five Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino venues and multiple local attractions, all while developing his own brand. Fertitta said he is still far more often recognized as the CEO of Landry’s or the star of his cable television show, “Billion Dollar Buyer,” than as owner of the Rockets.

Yet, beyond the $2.2 billion he spent to win the bidding in a knockout, beyond the costs of operating a team, beyond even the player payroll and luxury tax payments all but certain to skyrocket next season, he has invested emotions that made his first season rewarding in ways other successes cannot.

“The family, Tilman, the whole extended family, his mom and dad, it’s been so much fun seeing them have this experience their first year,” said Tad Brown, the Rockets CEO. “Seasons like this don’t come around often. This is magical for them. I’ve known Tilman for a long, long time. Just seeing him and the joy it’s brought him and Paige (Fertitta’s wife) and the kids, it’s really gratifying.”

The couple's two oldest sons, Michael and Patrick, attend many of the road games Fertitta misses. His daughter, Blayne, and his youngest son, Blake, are regulars at home games. Patrick has studied the basketball-side decision-making. Michael has been closely involved in the Rockets’ esports team.

Fertitta, as with Alexander before him, has been involved in every basketball decision, from the preseason cuts to the last-day addition of Aaron Jackson, who flew on the Fertitta private jet with Patrick, Michael and Paige to get to Sacramento in time.

“They know this is a team this family is going to own when I’m long gone,” Fertitta said. “They enjoy it. It’s a great family business we all enjoy.

“I want my kids to learn every facet of (the hospitality) business. They’ve understood it because they’ve grown up with it. But there’s nothing like a sports team. There is nothing a community feels and is emotional about like a sports team. You can have the greatest restaurant or the greatest whatever, nothing is going to affect the public emotionally as much as a sports team. It’s totally different. I’ve had great successes, but there will be no success like winning an NBA championship one day.”

Jonathan Feigen has been the Rockets beat writer since 1998 and a basketball nut since before Willis Reed limped out for Game 7. He became a sports writer because the reporter that was supposed to cover the University of Delaware basketball team decided to instead play one more season of college lacrosse and has never looked back.

Feigen, who has won APSE, APME and United States Basketball Writers Association awards from El Campo to Houston, came to Texas in 1981 to cover the Rice Birds, was Sports Editor in Garland before moving to Dallas to cover everything from the final hurrah of the Southwest Conference to SMU after the death penalty.

After joining the Houston Chronicle in 1990, Feigen has covered the demise of the SWC, the rise of the Big 12 and the Rockets at their championship best.